The IOUG Changes Name to Independent Oracle Users Group; Organization Launches New Brand at Oracle OpenWorld in September

CHICAGO --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 7, 2005 -- Effective September 17, 2005, the International Oracle Users Group is changing its name to the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG), the organization for the complete technology and database professional, to better highlight the independent, user-driven viewpoint that the IOUG brings to the Oracle technology and database community. The name change is the first major rebranding effort in the organization's 12-year history and is the result of extensive surveying of the Oracle community.

The official launch of the new IOUG name and brand will take place at Oracle OpenWorld being held September 17-22 in San Francisco.

"The IOUG has always served as the independent and credible source of information empowering developers, DBAs, architects and technical managers to do their jobs better" said Ari Kaplan, IOUG President. "While our core membership of database administrators remains, our relevancy and benefits for the broader Oracle community including developers and architects has increasing importance to the IOUG."

More than 16,000 responses to the awareness survey were received providing input on the perception of the IOUG as an organization. 32% of the responses came from DBAs, 26% of the responses were from developers and 23% of the responses came from IT management. Both IOUG members and the broader Oracle community were polled.

The rebranding effort is coming at an important time for the IOUG, as the organization's annual symposium is appealing to a broader technology audience than ever before. For the first time, the IOUG will be co-locating their annual education event with the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) and the Quest International Users Group (Quest). COLLABORATE 06, Technology & Applications Forum for the Oracle Community, will be held April 23-27, 2006, in Nashville, TN.

About the IOUG

Founded in 1993, the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) (formerly International Oracle Users Group) is a user-driven membership organization for Oracle technology and database professionals serving more than 15,000 database administrators, developers, architects, technical managers and other Oracle professionals throughout North America and worldwide. The IOUG empowers its members and the broader Oracle community through their technical publication, SELECT Journal, Web site resources including more than 3,000 papers, tips and articles and networking with other users through online discussion forums, Special Interest Groups and a network of regional Oracle user groups. For more information about the IOUG, please visit www.ioug.org.